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As you gear up for outdoor grilling season, be careful not to serve unsafe food over Memorial Day weekend.
Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, is a day to remember U.S. military personnel who have died in the service of their country. The holiday also marks the unofficial start of outdoor grilling season, as families and friends gather for delicious grilled food.
But backyard chefs want to avoid food poisoning from ruining the festivities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food poisoning makes 48 million people sick each year, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.
According to the CDC, raw or undercooked meat and poultry and unwashed fruits and vegetables can carry bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
“When planning a cookout, think beyond the menu and plan for food safety,” says Quad Whitson, Extension Culinary Nutrition and Food Safety Program Associate at the University of Arkansas College of Agriculture, in his Food Safety Primer.
“A little preparation in advance can prevent a lot of problems down the line,” Whitson said, adding that outdoor cookouts may require additional supplies. For example, he notes, packing food in a well-insulated cooler will keep cold food below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and hot food above 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
before lighting the grill
Here are some food safety preparation tips from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration.
- Keep it cold: When shopping, choose meat, poultry, and fish last, and keep raw meat separate from other items in your shopping cart. Freeze raw meat as soon as you get home from the supermarket. Freeze chicken and ground meat that will not be used within two days. Freeze other meats within 4-5 days.
- Thawing: If possible, thaw frozen meat or poultry in the refrigerator. However, sealed packages can be thawed in cold water, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service said. If you are using the microwave to thaw, place the food on the grill immediately.
- Marinade: Whatever marinade you use, marinate your food in the refrigerator (note: do not thaw or marinate meat, poultry, or seafood on the counter). Ideally, any marinade used on raw meat should be discarded. If you want to use the marinade as a sauce for cooked food, set some aside before adding the raw meat. Also, if you want to use it as a sauce while grilling meat or poultry, you’ll need to simmer it for a few minutes to kill any bacteria.
Appropriate cooking temperature for grilling meat
When cooking, meat must reach a certain internal temperature to kill bacteria such as E. coli, which has been linked to repeated recalls of ground meat and leafy vegetables. E. coli infection can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea, and abdominal pain three to four days after exposure, and can cause kidney failure in children under 5, adults over 65, and people with weakened immune systems, the CDC said.
A food thermometer helps ensure that food is cooked to at least the minimum internal temperature. Place the thermometer in the thickest part of the meat and read the temperature after 10 to 20 seconds.
- According to the USDA’s FSIS, chicken must be cooked to a minimum temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Hot dogs and hamburgers made with ground beef, pork, veal, and lamb must reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit. All cuts of pork must also reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- To achieve medium-rare steaks, roasts, chops, and other whole cuts of meat, you should cook them to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit (62.6 degrees Celsius) and let them rest for 3 minutes after removing them from the grill. If you want your meat cooked to medium, increase the temperature to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- For fish, cook according to the CDC and USDA Safe Cooking Temperature Chart at 145 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the meat is opaque and separates easily with a fork.
Prevent the spread of bacteria while cooking
To prevent bacteria in raw meat from contaminating other foods, the CDC recommends using one cutting board or plate for raw meat, poultry, and seafood, and a separate board or plate for produce, bread, and other non-cooked foods.
Don’t use the same plates or utensils to transport raw meat to the grill and to collect cooked meat or poultry. Wash it or use another one. According to the FoodSafety.Gov website run by the Department of Health and Human Services, there is no need to wash raw chicken or meat before cooking, unless you need to wash the meat or poultry because of marinades or brine. This is because washing can spread germs to the sink, countertops, and other foods that can make you sick.
If you’re taking food to the kitchen, pack the raw meat in a sealed container or bag and place it in the bottom of the cooler to avoid dripping onto other food.
After you put the meat on the grill, wash the countertops and take the platters and utensils you used to put the meat on the grill to the kitchen and wash them in hot, soapy water.
The CDC also recommends washing your hands for at least 20 seconds after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, flour, and eggs, and after preparing food or before eating.
Memorial Day Cookout: Leftovers
When preparing meals to serve, place cold food on ice both before and during serving. Hot food must be kept above 140 degrees Fahrenheit and may need to be kept warm until served.
Meredith Carothers, a USDA food safety expert, said people should remember the “two-hour rule” when they’re done eating. She said this is the amount of time fresh food can be safely left at room or outside temperature before bacteria reaches dangerous or unsafe levels that cannot be stopped by reheating.
And if it’s really hot, the rule about eating outside is cut in half. “When temperatures rise above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, that time actually reduces to just an hour,” Carothers says.
Refrigerate leftovers immediately in a small container. You can put hot food in small portions directly into the refrigerator or back into the insulated cooler. Cut large items, such as whole roasts or hams, into smaller pieces before refrigerating. You can leave the legs and wings whole.
“If food has been sitting out for too long and you’re not sure if it’s staying cold enough, the best advice is ‘when in doubt, throw it out,'” says Whitson. “When you reheat leftovers later, they should reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Mike Snyder is a national trends news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, and X, or email him at: mike snyder & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
